IDA to return to Dubai for World Congress 2019

The International Desalination Association (IDA) is to return to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for its World Congress in 2019, building on the earlier success of the IDA World Congress held in the emirate in 2009.

IDA World Congress on Desalination and Water Reuse will make a return visit to Dubai in 2019

The event will be hosted by Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), whose capacity of desalinated water production currently stands at 470 MIGD (2.1 million m3/d). The emirate aims to increase capacity by 60 per cent to 750 MIGD by 2030, with new capacity shifting the emphasis from multi-stage flash (MSF) distillation toward reverse osmosis.

“We are honoured to welcome DEWA as host, and look forward to bringing our flagship event back to Dubai,” said IDA secretary general Patricia Burke.

“We are committed to sustainability, to raising awareness about water consumption, and to protecting the environment and conserving natural resources. All these are important themes of IDA World Congress,” said DEWA managing director and managing director Saeed Mohamed Al Tayer.

The addition of new desalination capacity in Dubai to 2030 is anticipated to introduce more reverse osmosis technology to the region. Currently, 95 per cent of Dubai’s desalination capacity uses MSF; this balance is expected to shift to 60 per cent MSF, and 40 per cent reverse osmosis by 2030.

IDA received a record eight contenders to host its World Congress on Desalination and Water Reuse 2019, from Barcelona, Canada, India, Malta, Oman, South Africa, and South Korea, as well as Dubai.

IDA World Congress 2017 will be in Sau Paulo, Brazil, from 15 to 20 October 2017.